“Who the hell are you? Move.”
With that, Dario tried to walk past him.
But the man shifted his body and refused to let him through.
Then—
SHING—
When he even drew the sword at his waist, Dario had no choice but to frown.
“What kind of crazy bastard is this?”
He was already in a hurry, and now some bastard was blocking his path with a sword?
“You’ve got a death wish.”
Dario charged with his dagger in hand, radiating a vicious aura.
He didn’t even ask why.
‘If he wants to die, I’ll grant his wish.’
Anything in his way just had to be removed.
But—
TING!
The dagger was repelled by a force.
‘What? A barrier?’
His dagger was imbued with 6-Star Aura.
Yet the barrier pushed it away before it could even touch the man.
The sensation was familiar.
“So it was you. You’re the bastard who put that barrier on the target.”
“And you’re the assassin who tried to kill Walter, aren’t you?”
Kain asked despite already knowing the answer.
“I’d like to see your face. Mind taking off that mask?”
“Fuck off.”
Feeling that he was being looked down on, Dario adjusted his grip on the dagger.
Then he immediately closed the distance and began hammering at Kain’s barrier.
‘They said the key to fighting a mage is never giving them distance!’
TING! TING! TING!
‘If I keep concentrating on one spot like this, I can break through the barrier!’
Dario focused all his strength on that single purpose.
It had only been a few seconds, yet cracks were already beginning to form with sharp snapping sounds.
Even so, Kain remained relaxed the entire time.
“So you won’t take it off willingly. Then there’s no choice. I’ll have to take it off by force.”
When Kain suddenly assumed a thrusting stance, Dario sneered beneath his mask.
‘A mage trying to imitate a swordsman.’
An attack from someone who hadn’t even awakened Aura would look as slow as a caterpillar to a 6-Star like him.
Thinking he could dodge after seeing the attack, Dario focused entirely on breaking the barrier.
Then—
CRACKLE!
For a split second, electricity ran along the tip of Kain’s sword.
SWISH—!
The blade shot forward like lightning and pierced straight through Dario’s shoulder.
“Ghhk!”
Dario dropped his dagger and staggered backward.
He had been certain he could dodge, yet he hadn’t reacted at all.
‘How did he suddenly move that fast?’
The pain was bad enough, but even if Dario hadn’t let his guard down, that strike would have been difficult to evade.
“What... are you? Aren’t you a mage?”
“I’m not a mage.”
Kain chuckled and snapped his fingers.
CREAK—
Tree roots burst from the ground and tightly wrapped around Dario.
‘Fuck, you are a mage!’
The words rose all the way to his throat.
Unfortunately, the roots had wrapped around his neck as well, preventing him from speaking.
“Let’s see how handsome you are.”
Kain lightly hooked the tip of his sword under the mask and pulled it away, then grinned at the man beneath it.
“Well, look at that. The eldest son of the Antonio Family.”
“......”
“You’re Dario Antonio, right?”
Unable to answer even if he wanted to, Dario could only stare with wide eyes.
Kain smiled and sliced through one of the roots around his throat.
“Now answer me.”
“......”
Being told to speak didn’t mean Dario intended to.
Who would willingly reveal information to an enemy?
“So that’s how you want to play it? Fine.”
Kain snapped his fingers once more.
As though he had been waiting for the signal, Bernatus immediately cast Mind Domination.
“Ugh....”
Only after Dario’s eyes lost focus and turned vacant did Kain ask,
“What’s your name?”
“Dario Antonio.”
‘As expected.’
His memory hadn’t failed him.
Kain had recognized the man the moment he removed the mask.
‘The ducal Antonio Family of the Bellion Kingdom has served dragons for generations.’
For an entire thousand years, the family line had continued while consistently worshipping dragons.
They were a family of traitors to humanity.
And there were eight such families.
‘The Ragnar Family has fallen, so there should be seven left now.’
A truly deplorable situation.
“Why did you try to kill Walter?”
“Because he killed the Blue Dragon named Aolios. It was retaliation.”
A curve formed on Kain’s lips.
Everything was proceeding exactly as he had expected.
Though he hadn’t anticipated that one of the Seven Great Families would act directly.
Even so, he needed to confirm everything.
“Who gave the order?”
“My father, Lorenzo Antonio.”
“No. There must have been someone who ordered the killing in the first place.”
“I do not know that much. I only did what my father told me.”
Then Duke Antonio was the one who knew.
‘I’ll have to pay that man a visit.’
Kain released the Binding magic.
“Lead me to your family estate.”
Freed from his restraints, Dario obediently stood and began walking.
Then—
“Wait.”
Kain looked back.
“Walter?”
“!!”
Walter, who had been watching from behind a tree, flinched when his eyes met Kain’s and froze in place.
“I was planning to come get you anyway, so your timing is perfect. Come here. You’re coming too.”
Walter didn’t dare disobey the command of someone he believed to be a Sword Master.
***
Camiloas was a Red Dragon more than three thousand years old.
He had a violent and savage temperament, and his Flame Breath was powerful enough to melt buildings.
‘But he isn’t the one who destroyed the Kingdom of Asel.’
The Red Dragon that destroyed the Kingdom of Asel was someone else.
‘Ignition. That bastard did it.’
Of course, that would happen ten years from now.
But even now, Kain’s blood boiled whenever he remembered that his mother had died because of him.
A memory that never forgot anything felt like a curse at times like this.
‘Before I take revenge on Ignition, I need to target Camiloas first.’
Camiloas was Ignition’s child.
No matter how fiercely independent dragons were, they would never ignore someone who harmed their offspring.
‘If Camiloas dies, he’ll come after me with his eyes blazing for revenge.’
That was why Camiloas had to be the first target.
The problem was that Kain didn’t know where he was.
‘I killed Camiloas before my regression. But this is a thousand years earlier. His location might have changed.’
Dragons occasionally moved their lairs.
They grew bored staying in one place for too long, and remaining somewhere for too long also risked exposing their location.
‘The Antonio Family has served a Black Dragon for generations. They have nothing to do with the Red Clan.’
Still, they might know Camiloas’s whereabouts.
As one of the Seven Great Families, they were bound to possess all kinds of information.
“Y-young Master Kain. Why exactly are you bringing me along...?”
Walter, who had quietly followed until now, finally worked up the courage to ask.
For someone who believed Kain was a Sword Master, it must have taken quite a bit of nerve.
But Kain had no intention of answering honestly.
‘If I tell him the truth, he’ll obviously run.’
So Kain made something up.
“Do you know why I saved you by putting protective magic on you?”
“I don’t....”
“Because I felt sorry for you.”
“......?”
Lies flowed smoothly from Kain’s mouth.
“Your family was ruined because of me, you were thrown out of the palace, and then some assassin nearly killed you. When I thought about it, I figured I’d gone too far. I felt a little sorry for you.”
“......”
“That’s why I’m protecting you. Why do you think I gave you the title of Dragon Slayer? It was all because I felt bad.”
Kain casually added,
“Well, you can also think of it as a bribe to keep my identity secret. Consider it compensation so you can start a new life somewhere else.”
‘C-compensation?’
Apparently Walter had never thought of it that way.
His mouth slowly fell open.
But Kain still hadn’t answered the question Walter actually wanted to ask.
‘So why are you bringing me with you...?’
Walter couldn’t bring himself to ask again.
It didn’t seem like Kain would answer anyway.
“We’re almost there.”
After crossing the border into the Bellion Kingdom, Kain’s group headed toward Duke Antonio’s territory.
The ducal fortress came into view in the distance.
***
Lorenzo Antonio had been in a good mood all day.
“Hehe. Once Dario finishes this job, our family’s standing will rise to another level.”
Aligning himself with Alton Drake had been a stroke of genius.
If he could win the favor of such a tremendously powerful man in the Crosent Empire?
The Antonio Family might prosper for generations.
Perhaps even for the next thousand years.
“It’s an easy mission. All he has to do is kill someone while he’s asleep. Dario should handle it without any trouble.”
Lorenzo never doubted that his son would succeed.
There was only a single Star separating a 5-Star and a 6-Star, but that difference could represent as much as ten years of training.
In a frontal confrontation, there was no way Dario could lose.
And if he struck while Walter was asleep, the assassination was practically guaranteed.
There couldn’t have been a better mission for catching the Drake Family’s eye.
“Stupid bastard. Why did you have to kill a dragon?”
Those who killed dragons were repaid with bloody vengeance.
Lorenzo already considered Walter a dead man and was thinking about taking an afternoon nap while patting his stomach.
But then—
Knock, knock—
A knock interrupted his nap.
“Who is it?”
“Father, it’s me. May I come in?”
“Oh, come in.”
Lorenzo’s face brightened at Dario’s voice, and he immediately rose to welcome his son.
But—
“Huh?”
His son entered with unfamiliar people.
“Dario, who are those people with you?”
“Ah.”
Dario glanced back before introducing Kain.
“He is my servant.”
“What servant?”
Kain approached Lorenzo with a mocking smile.
“W-who are you?”
“None of your business. Just answer what I ask.”
“You are insolent....”
Lorenzo was about to flare up when his pupils suddenly turned dull and unfocused.
The loss of focus proved that Bernatus’s Mind Domination had taken effect.
“What’s your name?”
“...Lorenzo Antonio.”
“Your family has worshipped dragons for generations, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Which dragon do you worship?”
“The Black Dragon Bellacors is my lord.”
The corner of Kain’s mouth rose.
It matched the information he had known before his regression.
Up to this point.
“How many dragon-worshipping families are there, including yours?”
“There are eight.”
“I mean excluding Ragnar, which recently fell.”
“There are eight.”
“......?”
A question arose in Kain’s mind.
There should have been seven.
Why did Lorenzo keep saying eight?
“Name every dragon-worshipping family.”
“Valerian, Albion, Lunaris, Cerulan, Verdant, Helios, Antonio, and Drake. Eight families in total.”